Essay about Material Possessions - The Path To Happiness?

What does it mean to own something? An individual may own something that has more significance to the item than meets the eye. This subject has encouraged prominent thinkers to learn more about the idea. This has entered a very fascinating way of thinking that has even perplexed the astounding minds of Plato, Aristotle, and Jean-Paul Sartre. This is why owning something has more significance than may be thought, tangible goods are detrimental to a person's character, ownership of tangible goods helps to develop moral character, and ownership extends beyond objects to include intangible things as well.

Often, the things people consider to be valuable have the ability to influence them. For instance, one who values their family is likely to base important life decisions on the impact they would have on his or her relatives. People who value money are known to engage in risky behaviors, such as gambling, in hopes of making a profit. The books we read can have this same power. Books that have value, or merit, are not only able to entertain but also leave the reader thinking about the issues the book discusses long after they've set it down. These pieces of literature leave a lasting impression on their audience for both their artistic storytelling and the impacting message they leave behind. Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible displays

However, instead of picking through garbage, it is much more fulfilling to have a job, a home, and a savings in the bank. Having the means to buy a few of the accessory items a person desires is more satisfying than living poor and having to resist everything. It is against the morals of many people to live off the rejected fruits of another’s work, not to mention a total opposite of the typical “American dream.” To lead a successful, independent life built from your own work and money, not off of the discards of someone else. Eighner claims to feel sorry for those who indulge in their wants and buy on a whim, the pathos should really be for him and others in his situation. Claiming enlightenment by living off of a dumpster is lunacy. It is a facade behind which lies the depressed wishes for any material object that is not solely for survival. It is Eighner that should be the object of sorrow, for his delusional thoughts than any person can live free of the instinct to hoard more than is really needed, homeless or otherwise. There is probably more materialistic want hidden in the depths of a dumpster diver than any average person, simply because of all they are denied on a daily

“On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner is an eye opening piece, which shows how even the most minimally simplistic lifestyle can have a sense of home. While many people do not see life as meaningful without riches, Eighner shows us otherwise. In effect, Eighner gives me a different perspective on how much our society takes for granted by having a first person view, seeing the arrogance of our actions, and noticing a pleasant life does not have to include riches. Seeing it from the other side of the spectrum, I have come to realize the disappointing fact that while it may seem that we do not realize how wasteful we are, there are people with need desperately needing and looking for our squandered goods. With Eighner showing us this lifestyle through his eyes, it gives me a deeper understanding of dumpster diving.

The author has also made intentional attempts to persuade the audience through the use of logical statements backed up by evidence. Eighner has started the essay by introducing how he viewed dumpsters as valuable objects. He then gives reasons why he is depending on dumpsters for his food. Being out of the workforce, he had no means of acquiring meals. He thus seeks refuge to the dump sites to get what he described as discarded and perfectly good food items. To support his position, Eighner informs his audience that this decision followed his inability to buy food as the little money he had was used to pay rent. He writes, “I put almost all my sporadic income into rent. The necessities of daily life I began to extract from Dumpsters” (Cite). Hence, he is able to convince the audience that his actions were as a result of saving money for rent.

Other purposes that Eighner may have written this essay include: a how-to guide on Dumpster diving, a memoir of his experiences, and a look on how people’s wastefulness support the homeless.

Although at first he was not homeless, he still dumpster dived to survive. Eighner uses a calm tone throughout the whole essay. With using this tone causes the reader not to feel sympathetic like normal people would feel when they hear about

“On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner is an essay about the author’s personal struggles of homelessness and the art of getting his daily necessities from local Dumpsters. Even before he was homeless, he had started to “Dumpster dive,” or “scavenge,” as he calls it, due to the depletion of his savings (Eighner 161). Despite the fact that the essay is about the author’s homeless experiences, he manages to remove most of the emotion from the essay and takes more of an approach that seems like he’s writing a Dumpster diving guide. Eighner utilizes many style elements including writing with a strong sense of reason and judgment, contemporary information, and his general dejected tone.

Adler uses a couple of patterns during his essay. The first pattern is description. He explains that the true value of a book is in its ideas: "The soul of a book can be separated from its body. A book is more like the score of a piece of music than it is like a painting" (17-8). Adler then uses a comparison/contrast pattern to enlighten the reader about the three kinds of book owners. His least favorite type of reader was mention earlier in the analysis. The second type of book owner has many books but they have no written notes or markings by the owner. This owner is, compared to the next type in Alder 's eyes, still not a true book owner. The third and most desired type of book owner, according to Alder, has: "... a few books or many - every one of them dog-eared and dilapidated, shaken and loosened by continual use, marked and scribbled in from front to back.

Throughout history, scrutiny towards literature has fallen into three categories: political, moral, and religious. Advocates of intellectual freedom and speech have stood against those individuals and organizations that oppose the rights of any individual seeking knowledge through books under the 2nd amendment. In my essay, I intend to shed light on the benefits books can have and the side effects of a lack of knowledge in a school setting.

One of Eighner’s biggest advantages in this essay is an acute understanding of the preconceptions and bad reputation around “dumpster diving” -and the people who do it- and the needs of the audience in order to take him, and his story, seriously. Because, as a culture, we perceive the homeless, and by extension, those who dumpster dive, as filthy, uneducated, and simple, it is vital for Eighner to present himself as well educated, even intellectual. He does this right from the beginning by revealing some of his own backstory. He tells of his early interest in dumpsters and how he approached the subject by writing to Merriam-Webster to better understand the origins of the word “dumpster”. This shows Eighner’s intellectual approach to the subject, building his credibility as an intelligent person. It also shows the seriousness that Eighner grants to dumpster diving, he allows the audience to understand the issue first, through rather cold, intellectual eyes, before having to look at the messy reality. Eighner does something very similar when he discusses the various names for dumpster diving. This again enhances the understanding of what he prefers to cal “scavenging” by

Lars Eighner represents the thousands of homeless people that have simply fallen victim of financial struggles, holding strongly onto his respect for others, his community, and himself, despite the difficulties he faces. According to Eighner’s website, he spent time at the University of Austin, Texas studying creative writing, which is clear through his writing techniques and narrative style. However after falling on hard times, Eighner ended up homeless. While homeless in the late 80’s Eighner composed the essay “On Dumpster Diving.” It need not take long for one to find his purpose in writing the essay. Dumpster diving and homelessness are deeply connected to a notion of poor life choices, mental illness, and substance abuse. And while Eighner doesn’t deny that many people he encounters are “winos,” Eighner’s purpose is to represent dumpster diving, in sense, as an art; reclaiming homelessness as “a modern form of self reliance.”

I agree that money leads to happiness because if you don't have money you can't buy things, you can't go out and do things like go on vacations and do things just to have fun.

Ownership is the act and state of having something in control or possession. Aristotle claims that owning tangible objects help to build moral character, while Jean-Paul Sartre proposes that ownership extends beyond to include intangible things such as skill or knowledge. Different objects can have varying effects on the development of self identity, leading us to who we grow as a person. A sense of self can be a reflection to what we own, whether it is a tangible or not. Ownership of intangible and tangible objects play a vital role for the growth of self identity, as it teaches crucial morals in life to develop personal character.

Landau states that “more money does not necessarily buy more happiness, but less money is associated with emotional pain” meaning money is materialistic and in the long run will not effect long term happiness (Landau 2). Money will buy you something materialistic that will be temporary in your life but after time fades you will eventually get bored until you find something new although it might have left you with some good memories and experience.